Submarine rescue emerging compartment



March 3 A. BELLONI SUBMARINE RESCUE EMERGING COMPARTMENT Filed Sept. 10, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 @Vemfar:

fin; 10 362/207 March 1, 1932. BELLONl 1,847,996

SUBHARINE RESCUE EMERGING COMPARTMENT.

Filed Sept. 10, 1929 4 She ets-S heet 2 fyul/enforr fin oela 321107212 March 1, 1932. A. BELLONI 1,847,996

SUBMARINE RESCUE EMERGING COMPARTMENT Filed Sept. 10, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 1, 1932.

A. BELLONI susmnms nmscun EMERGING commn'mmm Filed Sept. 10, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 L venfor';

Patented Ma. 1', 1932 I e v ,847, 6

- ANGELO BELLONI, or rontrovnnnnn. ITALY f s'uizmhitiivnlnssonnEMERGING COMPARTMENT A'p p lieation fiiea 'septemt 'ie, 29, st am." 391,677; and inoltaly September30,1928Ij The present invention} is intended to pro videra solution of the problem of rescuing men: from sunken submarines by a device such, that it would take the less possible weight and volume on board when cleared 5 off, and that, needing no special change in the hull structures, can be easily applied to 'any'typeof-submarine boat afloat.-

- The only essential idea of this device is that of getting the free water suriace'jo'f the flooded or not; viz., whether the ship is a sunken submarine or a rescuing one.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 shows one form of the invention in use with one type of compartment in the submarine (turret or conning-tower) and Figures 2 to 7 show a second form for use and aft torpedo rooms). 7 r

The first form of application, as disclosed V in Fig. 1, is specially designed for use with centralor turret-hatchways; and is an improvement on the emerging room shown 1n my prior British Patent No. 115,938/19 18. It essentially consists in the employment of two thin iron plates, fiat or rounded, desigo nated 1 and 2, which are installed, permanently or not, in the conning-tower 3, or ina sufliciently wide double hatchway, as clearly shown by Fig. 1. It is advisable thatthe two ordinary doors or scuttles, 4t and 5, of the dou- 5 ble hatchway, instead of being arranged 'vertically, one above the other, be situated the upper astern and the lower ahead (as in Fig. 1). For rescuing purposes, all the surviving men will be assembled together in the con- 5o trol-room'6, just under the conning-tower 3,

air-lock vi'z the water surface which'unden with a different type of compartment '(iiore where the best trained man, equipped with a rescuing hood or respirator, will pass" into the tower, through the opened'ha-tchway- 5;

Both rooms or compartments 3" and 6'- will L be brought up to an air pressure equal to the water-pressure of that depth; the tub 8 will be: flooded as high as the lower edge of platel and when thespy-corksshow-theair pressure to be equal tothefwater pressure at the "depth of the same lower-edge or plate 1,

the man in the turret will begin opening thehatchway 4,- which is. pushedoutwards by the excess of air-pressure.- Water will'rush in and vair out of tube 7; until equilibrium will automatically beset between water and air. 'Th enthe hatchway 4 will be totally to f opened; and the first man will be able to v go out and emerge. After him, with no more trouble, all the' other men can go out; dressed with hoods, if the submarine is lying more than 10 tathoms; but without anything,-. if

the depth is less.- In this case, it will'be'suif- 'ficient that every man, standing in the water of the tub 18*, keeps his breath before-passing,

'b'y'kneelin'g, into the room whence he swims; to the surface. In theother case, of a greater" depth, the men will be obligedto inalre some stops on the well-known signal buoys rope, inorder to avoi'd the caisson disease; or, bet- .ter still, the transshipment to another'rescuin'g' submarine, fitted with the, same rescuing device which ought to be brought to bottom alongside; or",if the depth is very great, to

be moored at the depth of first decompression stop. 7 i r e For war purposes, evidently, the same demany diversas necessary. V

The second construction, shown by Figs. 2', 3, 1 5, 6 and J, s especially designed for use with fore and aft hatchways; and is an 1111- provement on the 1909 Lake emerglng'room vice will enable tobe sent out ortaken in as disclosedin British Patent No. 4,639/1909.

It consists essentiallyin the employment of a thin iron plate (preferably galvanized),

which isordinari'ly' cleared ofi" on the internal walls o-r' the'double hatchways or ofthe compartmentbelow;. and only" when necessary I is rolled up as' a tube and fastenedwatersh to the weribrass collar-2020f the innermost scuttle of the double hatchwaay. Such an iron tube is much better than the flexible tube of the Lake patent, particularly when men are passing through it.

When the compartment 6 under the hatch way 3 is liable to be or must be flooded, as

ment 6, as high as the lower edge of the.

plate 1, filling up the tube 7 and the trunk 3, so that all men will be enabled to escape and emerge. This is exactly the case of the well known Holland tube.

On the contrary, when the compartment 6,

as in the most general case, is not liable to be flooded, nor to spoil electric cables and ma chinery, nor to develop hydrochloric acid from the battery cells, while rescuing another sunken submarine or iustto make an ordinary training practice for men, it will be enough to install a second plate 10, to be cleared off like the plate 1; and which, only when necessary, is to be mace watertight, by any well known contrivance, to the cylindrical edge of the circular or elliptioaliron plate 11; thus forming a tub 8, where the free water level will lie below the air-pressure of the room 6.

Figs. &, 5, 6 and 7 show only one of the numerous contrivances which may be applied to obtain, when necessary, a quick and water-tight mounting of the plates 1 and 10 on their supports 20 and 11, and following their cylinder generating line.

Figs. 1 and 5 show in elfect how to fasten together these plates, by catching the edge 1% of the plate on its other edge 15, using small bolts 12, whose heads are fixed to the butt-plate 13, soldered to the edge; rubber packing lo being pressed between edges 13 The rubber packingand the bolts stop at point 17 of the plate 18; which is therefore of a uniform thickness from 17 to 18. The same jointing of plates 1 and 10 could obviously be obtainedby a great many other well known contrivances' As for the jointing of cylinders 1 and 10 to their supports 20 and 11, it will be enough (Figs. 6 and 7) to introduce their edges 18 into the rifles of their supports; to fill up, all around inside the tubes, with rubber or as bestos packing-s; and to force from the outside by hammering on the specially shaped rings 22. The same joints could obviously be obtained in a great many other ways.

Claims: p

1. In combination with a submarine turret, a door permitting ingress into the turret, another door permitting egress from the turret, a wall member extending across the whole width of the turret and attached to the floor thereof and extending upwardly adistance less than the height of theturret, a second wall member extending across the whole width of the turret and attached to the roof thereof .and extending downwardly a distance less than the height of the turret, said doors lying within the chambers defined by said walls. 7

2. A submarine turret as set forth in claim 1, means for maintaining water therein at level such that flooding of the turret is avoided.

; 8. In combination with a submarine turret and a compartment of the submarine, a collapsible v tank fastened to the floor of said compartment, a collapsible tube extending between said tank and said turret, said tube in either its extended or collapsible position being without the turret, and means providing water tight connections between one end'of said tube and the floor of the turret, andbetween said tank and the floor of the compartment. I

1. A structure as set forth in claim 3, wherein the water tight connections consist of rings forcing the edges of the tube against packing material within supports. 7

5. In combination with a submarine vesl sel, 

